Outrage over Zanu-PF-State conflation

A LEAKED government correspondence has exposed the State-Zanu-PF conflation after it emerged that the party's second secretary and former Zimbabwe's vice-president Kembo Mohadi was being allocated fuel for a Mashonaland Central tour on party business.

This came as Mohadi was also sent by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to represent Zimbabwe at Tuesday's funeral of ex-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

In a September 28 memorandum titled Authorisation of Pending Department Activities seen by NewsDay, the Local Government ministry's Traditional Leaders Support Services, acting chief director Felix Chikovo said Mohadi would get 1 960 litres of fuel to travel to Mashonaland Central province between October 4 and 12.

"The following urgent department activities have been authorised to draw fuel and travel and subsistence allowances, chiefs installation for chiefs Nemamwa and Nemashakwe 3 000 litres, Chirumanzi section meetings (940 litres), VP Mohadi tour of Mashonaland Central (1 960 litres) and chief Benhura installation 2 260 litres," Chikovo said.

Analysts told NewsDay yesterday that the communique speaks to conflation of Zanu-PF and the State and urged Parliament to investigate misuse of government resources by the party.

"Given that Mohadi is a former vice-president who resigned, he is entitled to pension benefits. But this appears to be something else, where he is getting resources from the government to carry out what appears to be political party work. This is an unfortunate conflation of government and party business and abuse of State resources, which Parliament must investigate," Vivid Gwede said.

Another analyst Maxwell Saungweme said: "It's the party-State conflation which aids endemic corruption, sense of entitlement and lack of accountability. It's one of the reasons why Zimbabwe needs to change to democratic, transparent and accountable governance where State institutions are respected and not politicised."

Presidential spokesperson George Charamba was unwilling to comment on the matter, accusing NewsDay of having written the story before without his comment.

"You want the world to read you, but you don't read yourselves. I was not a factor in the construction of your story and I am not going to be in its development. If I had a role you would have called at the point of construction," Charamba said.

Zanu-PF secretary for Administration Obert Mpofu referred questions to party spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa but efforts to contact him were futile.